1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bridging devices, and, in particular, to an electronic apparatus having a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) interface and a method for reducing power consumption of the electronic apparatus by automatically lowering the data transmission rate for saving power when a specific condition occurs.
2. Description of the Related Art
With advances in technology, current computer systems are equipped with SATA interfaces, such as SATA Gen 1/2/3 interfaces. However, when an SATA device is connected to a host (e.g. a computer) through the SATA interface, the data transmission rate depends on the highest data transmission rate supported by the SATA device, the host, and the bridging apparatus. When the connection between the SATA device and a conventional host/bridging apparatus has been built, the data transmission rate may remain constant, and the data transmission rate cannot be dynamically adjusted. As a result, data will be transmitted between the SATA device and the conventional host/bridging apparatus with higher power consumption.